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Safety, Love, and Community

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About Our Classrooms

Every classroom at Little Hands International Preschool (LHIP)offers a full range of learning and growing opportunities for each child. Below are abbreviated sneak peeks into the intentionality behind every classroom’s environment which is specifically and uniquely prepared. To learn more about the scope and sequence of the curriculum offered in each classroom space as well as our Chinese and Spanish language integration, please contact us at info@littlehandsips.com. We are happy to share more information about what to expect in your child’s specific classroom. 

Classrooms

Toddler Classroom

18 months – 2 years olds

The toddler stage is full of hands-on exploration and a world just waiting to be discovered! It is typical to see toddlers reaching and grabbing for anything within grasp as their brain works hard to make connections with both what they can see and what they can touch. The toddler experience at LHIP includes:

  • Increased Language Development: By this age, toddlers typically possess at least 50 words. Expressive language is growing rapidly as our teachers share new words for the children to hear and understand in appropriate context while also encouraging the children to use their words when they need to communicate. Toddlers begin to move away from crying and making non-sensical sounds as their primary mode of communication to now using hand signals and words. They begin to understand that words have meaning and power. 

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Social Emotional Intelligence: Toddlers are beginning to have an awareness of their own emotions and the emotions of others. They start to recognize when they or someone else is happy or sad. In our classrooms, we nurture empathy and intentionally identify when feelings are happening around us. For example, you might hear a teacher say, “Billy is feeling sad. Let’s go check on him. Are you ok, Billy?” Or you might hear, “Sarah, I see you are crying. Why are you sad? Can you use your words to tell me why you are sad?” Through real life situations and pretend play, social roles and emotional identity are explored in a safe and loving environment.

Toddler Classroom

2 – 3 year olds

“I can do it myself!” is the battle cry of the 2-year-old. Independence is a distinct milestone at this age. As toddlers discover that they are capable beings, they instinctively want to do more things for themselves. Our 2’s classroom gives the children ample opportunities to do big things!

  • Practicing Independence: We put an intentional focus on supporting each child’s ability to take care of their own bodies. Our 2-year-olds practice self-feeding, washing hands, using their words for communication, dressing and undressing themselves, toileting, etc. 

  • Sensory Experiences: 2-year-olds thrive on being hands-on. You will find the 2’s classroom filled with sensorial materials for your child to interact with such as fingerpaint, sand, and clay. They can also engage in water play, mud play, and science creations that we make together! We will enhance language skills as we learn to use new words to describe what our hands are discovering. 

Preschool Classroom

3 - 4 Year Olds

The preschool age is so exciting! Your child is walking, running and jumping. They are having entire conversations with peers and adults. They are asking questions, deciding their identities and choosing their friends. It is important to give children the time and space to be curious as they make sense of their world. Preschool classrooms support:

  • Inquiry Based Learning: We want your child to ask why! We encourage questions, problem solving, divergent thinking, creativity, and collaboration. Language, literacy, and math continue to play a large role in this learning stage as phonics, pre-reading, writing, sorting, and classification clarify your child’s understanding of symbols and communication. 

  • Collaborative Play: In their younger years, the children practice independent play and parallel play. Now that their language has increased and their social skills have grown, children are ready to join together and collaborate on ideas and projects. You may see several children hard at work, jointly creating intricate systems using building blocks. Or perhaps you might hear children making a plan around how they will create a large art masterpiece as a group. At this age, negotiation skills do not always come easy, so our teachers are trained to help the children navigate these new waters of cooperation and prepare them for a lifetime of group dynamics that are to come.

Pre-Kindergarden Classroom

4 - 5 year olds

Children are full of potential at this age!  They are developmentally ready for more structured learning and are able to concentrate for longer periods of time. Our low ratios allow us to individualize lesson planning in order to support targeted learning and development. Our Pre-Kindergarten classroom focuses on: 

  • Kindergarten Readiness: We often hear the question, “Will my child be ready for Kindergarten?” Studies now show that the highest indicator for Kindergarten success is the ability for a child to self-regulate. Self-regulation allows for focused engagement in learning activities and provides a strong foundation for school readiness. Our Pre-Kindergarten classroom practices communicating wants and needs verbally, enthusiasm and curiosity when approaching new activities, paying attention and following directions, respecting our environment and others by not being disruptive, and being sensitive to the feelings of others. 

Academic Readiness: Along with self-regulation, we prepare the children for Kindergarten with a robust curriculum that focuses on language, phonetics, literacy, writing, math skills, cognitive skills, science and social studies concepts, as well as the arts. Children who graduate from our Pre-Kindergarten program have gone on to very successful academic experiences in Kindergarten and beyond. We believe in laying down strong horizontal foundations in order to best support each child as they go on to build tall academic careers.

Curriculum

We are using Creative Curriculum by Teaching Strategies for our school main curriculum, this curriculum is used by early childhood educators across the US for 40 years. 

The curriculum creates forward-thinking, comprehensive, research-based, and research-proven curriculum resources. It teachers to be their most effective, while still honoring their creativity and respecting their critical role in making learning exciting and relevant for every child.

The Creative Curriculum is research-based and supports the development of the whole child. High-quality, comprehensive resources empower educators to intentionally teach and care for our youngest learners during the most critical and formative years of development

Chinese & Spanish Languages and Culture

Our curriculum provides Chinese (Mandarin) and Spanish experiences for children to acquire the languages. We offer a combination of guided and natural learning methods to increase children’s language competency progressively. 

Enrichment programs

The following weekly / biweekly enrichment programs are offered to age-appropriate classrooms to simulate children’s minds and improve their learning skills. (Some fees may apply)

  • Art Lesson

  • Music Lesson

  • Lego Robotic 

  • Gymnastic 

  • Sports Lesson

  • Culinary experiences 

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